


Call + Response

by Amshara



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 12:17:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8750527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amshara/pseuds/Amshara
Summary: “All those years ago, you risked everything to give Te Fiti back her heart. Now I see that, in exchange, you left yours out there.” Sina touches Moana’s gently. “I hope the ocean will help you find it again.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I just saw the movie and this idea would not leave me alone until I put it down. Hopefully, I did justice to these characters, but all comments and critiques are welcome. As a note, I did change a few plot details from the end of the movie. Nothing too major, but it makes the story work a little better this way.
> 
> I don't have a beta reader, so apologies in advance for any mistakes. This is a cross between a traditional narrative and more free-form storytelling. Hopefully it works. I expect the full piece will about 4 chapters, but we'll see.
> 
> Finally, my inspiration for an older Moana comes from this lovely fanart (http://68.media.tumblr.com/017523e87c7a4208224f29df04717611/tumblr_n3ub2unEnj1t2dubxo2_r1_1280.jpg).
> 
> Enjoy!

It starts slowly at first. Her parents and her people are so glad to have her back, so happy to be free from the curse of Te Ka and to begin their voyage beyond the reef, that no notices how _accommodating_ the ocean seems to be. When Moana steers the fleet clear of incoming storms and always seems to find fresh water before their stocks begin to run low, everyone assumes that it is her experience from journeying with Maui.

It takes a full season of sailing for Moana to lead her people to a new island home. They tell themselves that if she seems unusually proficient at navigating… well, that’s only natural given her teacher; she learned to sail from a demi-god after all. She doesn’t tell anyone that she could feel the island pulling at her for weeks before it is sighted. She doesn’t tell anyone that she knows where the sharks are before she sees them or that she can close her eyes and sense where the current turns dangerous long before the boats touch those waters.

Her whole life, she has fought to keep her gaze away from the ocean. She’d succeeded, until the day that she didn’t. Now, lying next to her parents in their newly constructed hut, the air scented with flowers and the smell of woodsmoke, even with her eyes squeezed shut she can feel its call in her bones.

 _Comebackcomebackcomeback_ , _needyouneedyouneedyouneedyou_ it whispers.

The rhythmic breathing of her mother and father fill the hut, punctuated by Tui’s occasional snores. She remembered the heartbreak on her mother’s face when she had left the first time and the joy when she had come back.

 _Not yet_ , she whispers to the ocean, _not yet_.

_Soon?_

_Soon_ , she promises.

* * *

 'Soon’ turns into one year, then two. Although their new island is large and bountiful, at first there is so much work to be done building the village and helping her people settle into their new home that Moana has little time to do anything besides dig, weave, build, harvest, fish, and fall asleep exhausted at the end of each day.

Her father is chieftain, but little by little, he steps back so that Moana can step forward. Tui has always known that Moana is a natural leader: kind, yet firm when needed; daring, yet protective of the others around her. Tui is proud of her, but cannot help but see how the ocean seems to cling to her footsteps as she walks along the beach. Every morning she is at the shore dancing, as her grandmother did, and he sees how the waves seem to move with her. He wonders how long this life will be enough for her.

* * *

 

By the time she is 20, people know that when Moana says to bring the boats in and seal up the huts and stock fresh water, a bad storm is on its way. They whisper that she always seems to know where the fish are hiding and where the clams are largest. The story of her journey with Maui has become a legend in the village. It is told and retold and grows in the telling. For her part, Moana appreciates their respect, but refuses their awe. She plays with the children whenever she can and insists that people use her name instead of calling her _kaitiakitanga_ —guardian. The ocean burbles in amusement at her annoyance when they do it anyway.

* * *

 

At first, Moana had thought Maui might visit the island, but months pass, then years, and he never does. Most people who know the story of Moana’s journey are awed, and a little jealous, that she was in the company of a demi-god. To them, Maui is a figure from a myth and just as unreachable. Only Sina notices how Moana always turns toward the sound of a seahawk’s cry or how her daughter’s eyes soften at the mention of his name. A third year passes and Maui doesn’t come. Moana only speaks to the ocean about him after that.

* * *

 

When she turns 25, Moana begins courtship with one of the village men. He is strong and funny and patient and Moana blocks her ears to the oceans’ whispers and blinds herself to her mother’s worried looks. She tells herself that she must marry if she is to be chieftain and now is as good a time as any. Besides, it’s well past time for the chieftain’s daughter to pick a husband and the village has been growing impatient.

After weeks of talking and gentle touches, he kisses her near the ocean under a coconut tree. Behind closed eyes, Moana feels his lips move against hers and tries to kiss him back, to tamp down the feeling of _wrongness_. He is gentle and pulls her closer for a second before letting go and stepping away. She opens her eyes and only then realizes that she is crying.

“I’m sorry,” she chokes out, breathing heavily, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

He smiles at her sadly and wipes her cheek, “You’re the ocean’s child, _kaitiakitanga_. How could you ever be satisfied with only this life?”

She feels brittle as he walks away, denial on the tip of her tongue, but she keeps silent. That is the first time he’s used the title and not her name. The ocean’s gentle _shhshhshhsh_ h fills her ears; it sounds like a lullaby from a mother for her child.

* * *

 

She goes back home after dusk, returning late to avoid the knowing looks of the others in the village. Moana pauses at the door, embarrassed at catching her parents in an embrace. Her father’s hands are on Sina’s waist, pulling her close, and Sina is running her fingers through Tui’s hair. They seem to only have eyes for each other, ignoring the fire which needs more leaves. They are set apart from the world, sharing their own secret language of look and touch.

They kiss and they are so obviously in love with each other that it makes Moana’s heart ache. She retreats and rewalks the path the house, this time making more noise to alert them to her presence.

* * *

 

Lying on her mat, trying to sleep, she hears her parents’ breathing and the sounds of the village around her. How long has it been since she’s seen the ocean’s horizon? Heard its waves against the hull of her canoe; pulled the sail taut to crest a wave? She is 25 now and the years that have passed since her encounter with Te Fiti, seem to pin her to the floor. She’s sailed, but not out of sight of the island. She thought she’d convinced herself that she’d done enough sailing by bringing her people here. Now, she feels like she’s suffocating.

As the chieftain’s daughter, she knows that there are some paths she has to walk alone. For the first time in a long time, she admits to herself that she is not just alone, she is _lonely_.

That night, she feels the ocean’s worry for her, its usual whisper becomes a roar, _comebackcomeback,_ _youneedyouneedyouneed_.

Moana feels her heart beat once, twice. _Alright_ , she answers, _alright_.

* * *

 

That morning as they break their fast, Tui and Sina sense that something has changed. They exchange questioning glances, but hold their silence. When they finish eating, Moana clears her throat and looks down at her hands, feeling the seconds stretch between them.

She looks at her mother first, then her father, imploring them to understand; “The ocean is calling… and I must, _I must_ , go.”


	2. Chapter 2

Maui had not expected the little mortal to leave her mark, by you know, _leaving a physical mark_ , on him. His tattoos were also a gift from the gods, marking him with all of the important moments of his life as a way to guard against the dangers of immortality. The problem with having time stretch out in front of you endlessly is that it got really hard to keep track of it. Doubly so if you were a former mortal granted (demi) godhood. Mortals and immortality and sanity tended not to go hand in hand.

The tattoos were signposts, a way for him to keep track of his identity. He had expected that something would crop up after returning Te Fiti’s heart, he just hadn’t thought it would be _her_ mark. A silhouette of her standing with that damned oar she liked to whack him with, flower in her hair.

No he hadn’t been staring down at it! And no, it absolutely did not mean anything that it was over his heart, okay? Yeesh.

He flicked the tattoo of Mini-Maui into his elbow; he was definitely _not_ getting defensive.

* * *

 

After Te Fiti, he had followed Moana and her people’s ships until they found their new home. Not that they knew of course. He’d made sure to stay out of sight after the first few days. If he’d rerouted a sea-monster or two from crossing their path, the only one who knew was the ocean and it wasn’t telling. Besides, the kid had been through enough after the whole "returning the heart to a lava monster" thing.

* * *

 

The nightmares, he keeps to himself. Not that he has friends to tell them to, but it's the principle of the thing that counted—he’d rather be boiled alive by Kakamora before admitting that he woke up with his throat tight and the smell of Moana’s burning body in his nostrils; her screams ringing in his ears.

Looking into the black of his eyelids, he pictures the moment over and over again. Moana holding up the heart like a beacon and Te Ka turning on her like a shark scenting blood. What if Te Ka hadn’t stopped her rampage? In a second, he was back on the rock with his hook broken and unable to do anything besides watch in horror. Bile from fear and rage burn the back of his throat. He feels the nudge of Mini-Maui and consciously stops grinding his teeth and releases the white knuckle grip on his fish hook.

Afterwards, when the dread and awe had passed and Te Fiti was restored, he had wanted to shake her in disbelief. Didn’t she understand how mortal she was? How breakable? What would he have done if she had—

 

Nope, not going to finish that thought.

* * *

 

Maui hadn’t been lying. He really did have demi-god business to take care of. There were a few islands that had drifted out of alignment that he had to (extremely painstakingly) drag back into place. Then there were the sea monsters he had to round up and return to Lalotai. A few villages to save, crises to avert, what could he say? He was a busy guy.

Of course, he was also Maui the Demigod, so it was all pretty easy. (Mini-Maui nudged him.) Okay! Minus the Kraken thing. That was a tough one. Tentacles, man; those are seriously the worst. How it had even _gotten_ here from halfway around the world, he still couldn’t figure out.

* * *

 

As he finished each quest, he’d stop in briefly to see how she was doing. Just to check-in. Not that he would visit her in human form; he was usually in a different shape. He'd switched to a gull instead of his usual seahawk since she knew that one so well.

At first, he just wanted to make sure that she was getting along okay. There weren’t a lot of mortals that would jump into the realm of the monsters (okay, there were none that he knew of besides her), which made her… different.

He’d been proud to see her grow into capable leader. Then the longer he went without visiting her as a human, the harder it got. Besides she seemed to have put her journey behind her.

No, there was nothing creepy about it! (Mini-Maui gave him the side-eye). Well, obviously she was busy! He didn’t want to be rude and interrupt.

The fact that her mark over his heart hadn’t been overwritten or moved (not even by the Kraken, which had shown up circling his ankle), was something that he firmly did not allow himself to think about.

Not thinking about things is one of his strongest skills after all. (Mini-Maui rolls his eyes; they are one-hundred percent in agreement on that one).

* * *

 

He knows the ocean is worried about him, but he ignores it. His conscience nags at him; the ocean had been the one to save him after all, and bring him to the gods.

In a place deep inside, one without words, a part of him knows that he has not forgiven the ocean for this yet. If his parents didn’t want him, what right does it have to give him this other life? One where he doesn’t fit with the gods or with the humans?

* * *

 

He sees Moana, she’s standing with a man under a coconut tree. He saw them together before, weeks ago, when they went fishing together. He was high up in the sky as a gull and watched this man as he made her laugh. Something burned in his gut, but he chalked it up to bad seafood.

Later that evening, when she is alone and dancing at the shore's edge, the water swaying with her movements, he realizes that the kid he knew is no longer a kid.

Time is a tricky thing for someone like him, so he’s not quite sure how much has passed since Te Fiti. But floating offshore, he is hypnotized by the gentle movement of her arms, the sweep of her leg. The straw grass in her skirt rustles as she sways her hips and he sees the way that the setting sun turns her skin a polished gold. Her hair is pulled into a loose, high bun, flower tucked behind her ear. He blinks and realizes that she is beautiful. Not just beautiful, she is a woman now, well past childhood.

 

Now, watching her with this man, something in his heart becomes heavy. He’s kissing her and she’s kissing him back and Maui wheels away, unable to watch for another second.

Flying back to his island, suddenly he’s so very, very tired.

 

Hero, villain, trickster, thief, mortal, immortal, god, shapeshifter, champion, betrayer... he’s played so many roles in this long life of his.

 

Mini-Maui has gone silent and still.

 

He lands on the shore of his small home and lies on the sand staring up at the stars.

 

He still doesn’t understand why the ocean picked him and not another. _Why?_ He asks, _what is it all for, if all of the roads lead back to a place I can’t go?_

 

The waves are his only answer.


End file.
